GeoWorld Travel Italy Volcano Tour Geology Trip and Holiday

Itinerary - 9 Days

Day 1 - Arrive in Naples. We spend the night in the city.

Day 2 - Herculaneum World Heritage Site and Mount Vesuvius. For our stop of the tour, we head to the Parco Nationale del Vesuvio and walk to the summit of Mount Vesuvius itself.  At the summit we can peer into the crater, see active fumaroles and get magnificent views over the city of Naples. After this, we visit the ruined Roman city of Herculaneum at the base of Mount Vesuvius volcano. The city, a World Heritage Site, was buried by pyroclastic flows from the volcano's eruption of 79 AD. The site has exceptional preservation due to the depth of the pyroclastic deposits, allowing  wood and other organic based objects to be preserved. We return to the city to spend another night in our Naples hotel.

Day 3 - Phlegrean Fields Caldera, Naples. Today we visit the Phlegrean Fields volcanic area, which is 15km west of Naples. Lying mostly underwater, the area of the caldera comprises 24 craters and volcanic edifices. We start the day with a walk to Monte Nuovo. Monte Nuovo is the site of the most recent volcanic activity in the Phlegrean Fields. It is a scoria cone that erupted in 1538. We climb to the crater rim and learn about its eruptions and get great views of Largo Averno, a lake filling a neighbouring crater. The name means 'the lake without birds', which could be due to its CO2 emissions, and it was considered by the Romans to be the entrance to Hades. We then move on to the next site to take a view over the Solfatara crater, the mythological home of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. Here we see hydrothermal activity and gaseous emissions. As we drive away from Solfatara, we pass the Flavian Amphitheatre, the third largest Roman amphitheatre in Italy. We then head to the Temple of Serapsis in Pozzuoli, where we have lunch. This 'temple' was a Roman Market and features on the front cover of Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology published in 1830. The pitted surface of the temple's columns, caused by marine molluscs, tell us the land has subsided and risen again due to the swelling of the magma chamber beneath. We then return to Naples where we spend another night.

Day 4 - Pompeii World Heritage Site , Naples. In the morning we travel by train and visit the Roman ruins of Pompeii which were also destroyed by an eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD.  Pompeii is much bigger than Herculaneum and it needs more time to visit. We will spend the morning together walking around Pompeii before having lunch just outside the site. After lunch we will then head to a smaller site which was also destroyed in the Vesuvius eruption, Villa Regina. Villa Regina is a rustic villa which was a working farm at the time of the eruption. The site is surrounded by ash deposits which have been cut through by archaeological excavation, giving an excellent cross-section of the deposits. We also see accretionary lapilli here. When we have completed our visit to Villa Regina, we will travel to the port of Naples, where we will take an overnight ferry to Lipari. Our onboard accommodation will be in cabins. 

Day 5 - Lipari.  The ferry docks in the morning and we spend the whole day on Lipari.  We drive to the north of Lipari island to see obsidian flow and pumice deposits from Monte Pilato, and then we visit Quattrocchi on the west of the island, which has a stunning view. We can descend via a coastal path to the beach, passing layered ash and lava deposits. We then return to Lipari town where we spend the night.

Day 6 - Lipari and Stromboli. Free morning in Lipari town with the opportunity, if you wish, to visit the Old Town and Castle, in which the local museum is based with its displays on the colonisation of the islands dating back to Neolithic times, around 4000BC. We take a boat over to Stromboli, leaving in the early afternoon. We arrive on Stromboli island, where there is some free time. Then, in the late afternoon, for those who are able, we take a steady climb to 400m observation point, accompanied by local guides, reaching the viewpoint at dusk. We will then spend time there watching the spectacular eruptions of Stromboli by night, before returning to the town. Those who do not feel able to undertake climb may wish to watch the eruptions from below by taking a short low-level walk to the Observatory, at 280m. We then take the boat back to Lipari where we spend a second night.

Day 7 - Vulcano. In the morning we take the hydrofoil to Vulcano, the island and volcano that lends its name to all the world's volcanoes. First we climb the spectacular summit crater and see fumaroles and lava flows, and then we descend to take a tour around the island with a local guide. In the late afternoon, we take the hydrofoil to Milazzo on Sicily where we spend the night.

Day 8 - Mount Etna. Today we visit Mount Etna volcano. We drive to the Rifugio Sapienza and then take the cable car and four-wheel drive bus to a location near the south-east crater. From there a guide will walk with us to near the summit of the volcano. On our way we will see lava flows, steaming vents and fumaroles. We spend the night in Catania.

Day 9 - Depart from Catania. There are direct flights from Catania to the UK and many other destinations. It is also possible to fly or take the train back to Naples or Rome.